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what do these prefixes for jhāna mean? Jhāyanti pajjhāyanti nijjhāyanti apajjhāyanti

 what do these prefixes for jhāna mean?

pa-j-jhāyanti ni-j-jhāyanti a-paj-jhāyanti (a few suttas have ava-jhāyanti instead of 'a-paj')


'pa' often seems to be an amplifier or intensifier.

many of the suttas with ni-j-jhāna treat it like a first jhana with too much thinking reflecting on a view (ditthi).

What does 'ni' prefix mean in general, and what do you think it means here?


For a-paj-jhāyanti, (mis-meditate) B. Bodhi treats it as almost opposite of  paj-jhāyanti (pre-meditate).


Thanissaro treats all 4 types as various flavors of absorbing.

Sujato treats the last two types as 'thinking' type of absorptions (I believe he translates  paj-jhāyanti  and ava-jhayanti the same)


B. Bodhi footnote in MN 108

525 Jhāyanti pajjhāyanti nijjhāyanti apajjhāyanti. Though the verbs individually do not have an established pejorative sense, the string is obviously intended as a denigration. At MN 108.26 the four verbs are used to describe the meditation of one whose mind is obsessed by the five hindrances.


Here, brahmin, someone abides with his mind obsessed by sensual lust, a prey to sensual lust, and he does not understand as it actually is the escape from arisen sensual lust. While he harbours sensual lust within, he meditates, premeditates, out-meditates and mis-meditates.


thanissaro:

“It wasn’t the case, brahman, that the Blessed One praised mental absorption of every sort, nor did he criticize mental absorption of every sort. And what sort of mental absorption did he not praise? There is the case where a certain person dwells with his awareness overcome by sensual passion, seized with sensual passion. He does not discern the escape, as it has come to be, from sensual passion once it has arisen. Making that sensual passion the focal point, he absorbs himself with it, besorbs, resorbs, & supersorbs himself with it.


sujato:

Harboring sensual desire within they meditate and concentrate and contemplate and ruminate. so kāmarāgaṁyeva antaraṁ karitvā jhāyati pajjhāyati nijjhāyati apajjhāyati. 


Forum discussion


https://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?p=648223#p648223


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